The Mets have officially declined the 2014 option on Johan Santana, the team announced.

The team will buyout Santana’s contract for $5.5 million.

Santana’s 2014 option was worth $25 million.

Santana issued a statement on the move:

“I want to thank the Mets organization, my teammates and of course give a big thank you to the Mets fans, who have been behind me from day one and stood by me through all the good and bad. I am not sure what the
future holds, as this is all new to me, but I have every intention of pitching in 2014 and beyond and I am certainly keeping all my options open. BELIEVE IT.”

The Mets won’t rule out re-signing Santana this winter, according to team insiders, but if they did bring him back it would be with similarly low expectations (Martino, Oct. 17), like was the case with Chris Young and Shaun Marcum when they were signed.